Egypt’s banks commit 700 million pounds to people affected by coronavirus

Egyptian banks have committed 700 million Egyptian pounds ($44.3 million) to support irregular workers hurt by the coronavirus pandemic and to Tahya Misr Fund, top banking official announced Wednesday.

Tahya Misr, a fund created by Egyptian President Sisi in 2014, aims to assist national economy and offer help in emergency cases like the coronavirus crisis.

The donations are part of an initiative launched by Federation of Egyptian Banks (FEB) in coordination with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to support people hurt by the pandemic, said Mohamed El-Etreby – chairman of one of the country’s biggest banks, Banque Misr.

El-Etreby, who is also head of the Federation, said the amount of these donations would be divided into three consecutive months; April, May, and June.

According to the initiative, member banks of the Federation active in the Egyptian market will be divided into four categories as pursuant to their annual profit during 2019.

The first category of banks – with equal to or more than 5 billion pounds in annual profit – are to donate 80 million pounds. As for the second category, lenders with an annual profit between 3 to 5 billion pounds are set to donate 40 million pounds.

The third category of banks, whose annual profits range between 1 to 3 billion pounds, will donate 20 million pounds.

The fourth and last category involves banks with an annual profit below 1 billion pounds as they are set to donate 10 million pounds.